Just as Wolf finished speaking, Fred did not hesitate and immediately followed up.
"I'll sortie."
"What!?"
This was Wolf's exclamation.
"No way!?"
And this was Alec's attempt to stop him.
For Fred to head to Mendel, to the very place where Haken's unit might be ambushed—this was no joking matter.
The specific situation on Haken's side was still unknown. Although Alec knew Fred possessed formidable close-combat abilities, this was not a problem that could be solved through close combat alone.
Haken's loss of contact was certainly no accident. There could be all sorts of dangers, ambushes, and unexpected situations there at any moment.
What if the space colony lost pressure? What if the Blue Cosmos forces on the ground had heavy weapons?
Fred wasn't truly a superman; surely that ancient martial arts couldn't work miracles out of thin air.
Amidst the astonishment of the two, Fred helplessly addressed Captain Wolf.
"Of course, I'm not planning to go there myself."
"We have contingency plans, right? If ground forces lose contact, we dispatch a rescue team. I want to remotely pilot a powered armor suit as external support to temporarily join the operation."
"Of course, I'll command the team."
This was something that had been planned before. Fred's reason for taking command wasn't to steal the spotlight, but because he also wanted to check on Ola's situation.
Moreover, he had just demonstrated his capabilities earlier. Bringing it up to the captain now was the most likely way to get approval.
As someone who had mentally rehearsed the plan hundreds of times, Fred had practically memorized every possible contingency.
The current response was just one part of it.
As for communication issues, everyone was within the same space colony. There was no neutron interference present yet, and as a research-oriented colony, its internal infrastructure was top-tier, allowing for completely lag-free remote control.
Upon hearing this, Captain Wolf paused in the communication.
He had initially intended to directly dispatch a rescue team and hadn't expected Fred to volunteer.
If this had been earlier, hearing that Fred wanted to sortie remotely, he would have refused as well.
The control logic for powered armor was different; various dynamic balances were maintained through bodily senses.
Without physical sensory feedback, remote control was extremely difficult.
But now, things were a bit different. Thinking of the missiles Fred had launched earlier, the captain silently acquiesced.
Even if Fred couldn't fight, his mind was truly sharp. Having him there might indeed play a significant role.
"I understand."
The captain responded solemnly, while giving a slight bow to Fred in the video communication.
"I leave Haken's team in your hands."
"Leave it to me."
This was no time for modesty. Fred nodded and accepted directly.
Even under unknown pressure, his voice remained steady and calm, inexplicably reassuring.
With the captain's permission secured, Fred quickly made his way from the operations room back to the hangar.
Meanwhile, the numerous rescue teams on standby followed closely, arriving at the scene one after another.
There were six of them in total, all appearing to be Aces.
They must have already received the Captain's orders, as the squad leader at the front saluted toward Fred.
"Mr. Freed, following Captain Wolf's temporary orders, we are now under your full command."
"Mm."
Fred acknowledged, his gaze quickly sweeping over the group before him.
Among the six, five had determined expressions, clearly Aces.
Even if they might be inwardly dissatisfied with him, they still followed orders.
But one of them was different.
Standing at the end of the line, noticeably younger than the others, a boy was staring at him with wide eyes.
He had seen plenty of people like this before.
This one was clearly an impatient king.
Impatience could lead to mistakes.
Fred kept this thought to himself, merely glancing over it in his mind before addressing the Captain in front of him.
"Prepare now, we depart immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing Fred's command, the five before him responded loudly before turning away. Only the remaining one left without even a glance.
"This..."
Seeing his team member's behavior, the squad leader turned back, his face clearly showing helplessness.
"It's fine, go ahead."
Fred smiled faintly.
As long as the other person followed orders, he had no intention of asserting authority—it served no purpose anyway.
"Understood."
Seeing that Fred didn't seem to mind, the squad leader breathed a sigh of relief, though he still harbored some doubts about Fred's capabilities.
It couldn't be helped—they were a rescue team and had no knowledge of Fred's earlier actions.
Moreover, given the urgency of the situation, no one had informed them.
So, at this moment, the rescue team only knew that some unknown genius had single-handedly defeated the Blue Cosmos fleet outside.
"If only that genius were in command..."
The squad leader muttered to himself but kept it to himself.
They were Aces and had to follow orders. Since the Captain had given the command, there must be a reason for it.
There was no way they could stand by and do nothing.
As for Fred, if he gave any strange orders, the squad leader would step in to advise him. Besides, the Captain was still here.
There was no way the Captain would ignore it if Fred gave an outrageous command.
Unconcerned with what the others thought, Fred turned and called out to Alec, who was also heading toward the Powered Armor.
"Alec, you don't need to go."
"But..."
Alec hesitated.
"It's not about abandoning them."
Fred rolled his eyes and explained.
"You and I will handle it remotely."
"But..."
Alec started to speak but, seeing Fred's calm demeanor, changed his tone.
"I understand."
Without further delay, the two quickly made their way to the remote control device.
Fred opened the communication channel and said,
"Rescue team, prepare for deployment."
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing this, the already waiting team members responded in unison.
However, in another private communication channel, a different voice could be heard.
"Participating remotely like this won't contribute much to the fight, will it? Coward!"
The young Ace who had earlier left without a word now whispered in the internal communication channel.
"Our duty is to follow orders, Ikeda!"
Another Ace retorted.
"He's a researcher, just a rich kid wanting military achievements. We are the soldiers, and that guy comes to command us—isn't that an amateur leading professionals? Captain Haken's fate is still unknown!"
"That Captain Wolf sold out Captain Haken and the others!"
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